G.B. Blackrock

G.B. Blackrock is a human from the Generation 1 continuity family.

He's definitely not Tony Stark! Not even when he's got a flying robot guy alter ego! Definitely, especially not then!

G.B. Blackrock is a shrewd businessman—he's built his company, Blackrock Enterprises, into a global success and is himself worth millions of dollars. Despite this, he also knows that people are more important than money, and his first concern, even before making money, is the safety and welfare of his workers. The fact that Josie Beller was injured defending his oil rig continues to haunt him.

With the arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth, Blackrock is one of the few humans with power to actually distinguish between the two sides, and his loyalties lie firmly with the Autobots. Perhaps he can convince more people to listen to him.

Sometimes his first name is Garrison but his true birth name is Sovereign.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Clearly you need four medallions to fend off this invasion, G.B.!

Blackrock Enterprises unveiled a new highly efficient oil-drilling platform to the public. Interviewed by Charlene Welles, G.B. Blackrock gave the credit for the rig's design to employee Josie Beller. Their broadcast was seen by the newly arrived Shockwave. The New Order Less than an hour later, Shockwave attacked the rig. Blackrock sounded the alarm. Though the rig's defenses, controlled by Beller, were formidable, Shockwave overcame them all, and Blackrock ordered the evacuation of the rig. Josie, however, was knocked out by an electrical malfunction, and as Blackrock carried her out of the rig, Shockwave appeared in front of him, telling him to take the message back to the other humans that resistance was useless. The Worse of Two Evils!

Goes from Disco Stu to Clark Kent overnight.

Blackrock had the security beefed up at his other installations, adding artillery cannons and a private army to Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant Number One, but even this wasn't enough to stop Soundwave infiltrating it by tricking a worker. Blackrock learned about it from a news bulletin and announced he wasn't beaten yet. He visited the now-paralyzed Josie in her hospital bed at Blackrock Chronic Care Institute, delivering her the printed circuit design equipment she'd asked for. Though he felt the loss of the assembly plant meant that he'd failed her, he promised that the evil robots would be stopped. Warrior School! Enlisting the aid of Colonel Hawthorne and his men, Blackrock intended to take back the assembly plant. When Shockwave turned up at the plant, and the army opened fire, Blackrock was forced to tell them to stop, as the ricocheting shells were endangering his workers. He glared with silent anger while the reporter continued to try to question him. Repeat Performance!

Blackrock can grow a mustache quick.

In order to counter the robots, Blackrock began building an Anti-Robot Photonic Multi-Cannon. Decepticon Dam-Busters! Ames interrupted Blackrock's motor racing at Blackrock Motor Speedway to introduce him to General Capshaw, who warned him about unleashing the new superweapon he was building on the mysterious robots. Blackrock was dismissive of the General, worrying only about the safety of his workers and the security of his business. He instead visited Josie, who was keen to help, but Blackrock was determined to keep her out of harm's way. Later that night, Blackrock was visited in his office by Josie, now in a circuit exoskeleton she'd built for herself, and calling herself Circuit Breaker. Though Blackrock was impressed, he insisted she should keep out of the conflict and instead return to the clinic. She responded by storming out of his office.

The next day at the race track, Blackrock encountered Jazz, who took him for a ride and explained about the Autobot/Decepticon conflict. The pair struck a deal—Blackrock would supply the Autobots with fuel in exchange for them protecting his factories. Later, Blackrock attempted to unveil the Anti-Robot Photonic Multi-Cannon at the speedway, only for it to malfunction during the test firing. Circuit Breaker revealed that she'd sabotaged it so that he would have to unveil her as the secret weapon instead. When Starscream and Frenzy attacked, Jazz transformed to defend the humans, only to be zapped by Circuit Breaker despite Blackrock's protests that Jazz was on their side. When she zapped Wheeljack as well, Blackrock pleaded with her to stop and look at what she was doing. She acceded, but promised next time Blackrock wouldn't stop her from destroying the robots, and Blackrock realized that her experiences had turned her into a cold, inhuman killer. DIS-Integrated Circuits! Christmas Breaker!

Unknown to Blackrock, Professor Peter Anthony Morris once accused him of masterminding the Transformers war to his superiors (and Blackrock's chief competitors) at Roxxon Oil. The Icarus Theory

Prowl showed Blackrock around the Ark, visiting Jazz in Ratchet's medical bay while Prowl assured him that the Autobots were committed to staying hidden as much as possible. Blackrock suddenly remembered that all the phones at the aerospace plant were bugged, and he and Prowl used them to listen in on Shockwave talking to Optimus Prime's head. The Next Best Thing to Being There! This information would later aid the Autobots in rescuing Optimus and liberating the plant, though Blackrock himself didn't get involved. Prime Time! Blackrock went to check out the navy blockade surrounding the oil rig the Decepticons had captured, and talked to Walter Barnett. Though Blackrock was keen to recapture the rig, Barnett said that would run the risk of a catastrophic oil leak. He was further unimpressed by the navy's fruitless efforts to stop the Decepticons coming and going as they pleased. Rock and Roll-Out!

Seriously, Blackrock's upper lip, make up your mind.

As Blackrock had had the most contact with the alien robots, Barnett invited him along to the Intelligence and Information Institute. He told them about the fact that there were two factions, but was abruptly dismissed, and the I.I.I. decided to treat all of the invaders as enemies anyway. When "Robot Master" subsequently appeared on television to claim all of the robots were under his control, Blackrock quickly concluded that I.I.I. were behind it and told Bumblebee as much when the Autobot met with him later. However a comment he made to reporters resulted in a rumor that Robot Master was a fraud, and Burnett demanded he take back what he'd said. Blackrock refused, suggesting the Decepticons might soon get sick of Finkleberg claiming to be their leader and kill him. When the Autobots arrived a short time later and were attacked by the military, Blackrock demanded Burnett stop the humans. After the Autobots were forced to retreat, and the nearby Megatron was restored to life, Blackrock watched as the Decepticons abducted Finkleberg. I, Robot-Master!

As promised, Blackrock would continue to deliver specially-treated fuel to the Autobots, though they used a lot in battling the Decepticons. During one delivery, the plant was attacked by Bombshell and Thrust and only quick work from Jetfire saved Blackrock from the resulting inferno. The Gift

Blackrock was enjoying some time off on a cruise ship when an aerial battle broke out overhead between G.I. Joe and Cobra over control of Power Station Alpha. Serpentor used the cruise ship as a bargaining chip by threatening to sink it if the Joes didn't let them get a way with the power station. Hawk agreed to let Cobra get away with the power station, but Serpentor ordered the cruise ship sunk anyway. While G.I. Joe evacuated the cruise ship, Blackrock overheard Crankcase talking about their problems with giant robots and offered his assistance. Power Struggle He was taken back to Fort Lewis where Mainframe and Crankcase were inspecting the remains of the yellow robot the Joes blew up earlier. Blackrock explained how the robots were aliens in a civil war and the robot they killed was one of the good guys. He was surprised when Mainframe told him that it might be possible to salvage the robot's life essence from the wreckage. Ashes, Ashes...

If only Blackrock were wearing three medallions.

While out on a date with Felicia, Blackrock was approached by Goldbug who insisted on interrupting the date for a talk. Felicia was very unhappy about being driven home in a Volkswagen, leaving Blackrock in a less than agreeable mood. At a Blackrock gas station, Goldbug and Blaster told him they'd deserted the Autobot army now that Grimlock was in charge and they needed help in finding the Decepticons. They eventually persuaded Blackrock to help them, and he told them about a strange meteorite that had recently crashed. As they prepared to roll out, he quickly asked for a ride home. Crater Critters The meteorite turned out to be harboring Scraplets, parasites deadly to all mechanical life. When it transpired that the cure to Scraplets was water, Goldbug rang up Blackrock and arranged a couple of tanker trucks full of the stuff to be hauled in at the crash site. Blackrock accompanied the trucks to Death Valley, and was dismayed when the Scraplets merged into a giant monster and trashed one of his vehicles. Following the defeat of the Scraplets, Astrotrain surreptitiously used a hypnotic device on Blackrock. The Cure!

Under the Decepticons' influence, Blackrock set up a franchise of Wash and Roll car washes. After holding a press conference to tout the venture's success, Blackrock returned to his office where Ratbat congratulated him on his work. The car washes contained stroboscopic opticons, which temporarily hypnotized users into taking their cars to a Blackrock Oil Storage Facility and siphoning their fuel for Decepticon use. Soon, he was unveiling to his franchise holders the Wash and Roll mark II, which would have permanent effects. When Buster Witwicky caused a neon sign to smash, the flash of light broke Blackrock and the other humans present out of their hypnosis and they chased Ratbat and Laserbeak away. Blackrock later thanked Buster and Jesse, promising his company would dismantle the Wash and Rolls and refund everyone's money, as well as use the profits from the stolen fuel to help the poor. Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom

Following the collapse of RAAT, Blackrock set about assembling a new group of superhuman defenders dubbed the Neo-Knights. After recruiting Thunderpunch and Rapture, he gained footage of a mysterious man fighting Decepticons at an oil refinery in Louisiana. Blackrock took his recruits to find Hector Dialonzo, though neither of them seemed to enjoy the gaudy superhero costumes Blackrock made them wear. They arrived at Dialonzo's location to find Starscream fighting Circuit Breaker. Blackrock sent out his recruits to fight and defeat Starscream while he tried to reason with Circuit Breaker. She was as uninterested as always initially. Then, Dialonzo forced everyone else to cease fighting and instead pitch their offers at him, so that he could judge for himself who he wanted to join up with. Blackrock offered him a place to belong, as well as training so he could master his powers. Once Hector accepted Blackrock's offer of membership in the Neo-Knights, Blackrock made the same offer to Circuit Breaker, and she was finally swayed by his words. After blasting Starscream into the nearby surf, the group took off together. The Human Factor! Blackrock and his new team arrived on the scene as Optimus Prime was trying to arrange a truce with Scorponok so the Autobots and Decepticons could fight Unicron together. ...All This and Civil War 2 During the Neo-Knights' fight with Scorponok, Circuit Breaker was shot by Shockwave and naturally assumed the nearby Autobots were to blame. Blackrock tried fruitlessly to stop her from blasting the Autobots in retaliation, until he spotted Shockwave nearby, and managed to switch Circuit Breaker's attention to the Decepticon who had originally paralyzed her. In the aftermath of the battle, Blackrock and the Neo-Knights were mistakenly transported to Cybertron by Primus. Out of Time!

I think we all wanted to do this, but geez!

With Circuit Breaker's sanity quickly breaking down as a result of being surrounded by robots, Blackrock told Optimus to ask Primus to send the Neo-Knights back to Earth. Primus unfortunately vanished before Optimus could do so. The Void! As Unicron attacked, the humans sought shelter. But after Rapture pointed out there was no running from an enemy that was destroying the planet itself, Thunderpunch urged the others to help the Transformers against Unicron. Thinking the very notion absurd, Blackrock asked Thunderpunch if he had lost his mind. The burly super-human pointed out that the Neo-Knights' very purpose was to fight against "evil robots," and they now found themselves facing off against the evilest one of them all; a last stand against such opponent was the logical conclusion for their group. When the other Neo-Knights sided with Thunderpunch, Blackrock felt ashamed for his initial cowardice, and joined them as they charged into the fray. Unfortunately, Thunderpunch, Rapture, and Dynamo proved ineffective against Unicron. Blackrock found himself forced to slap Josie in an attempt to snap her out of her stupefied state. It worked, and with him goading her on, she blasted Unicron long enough for Optimus to grab the Creation Matrix and finish off the planet-eater. On the Edge of Extinction!

After the destruction of Unicron, Blackrock and the Neo-Knights were stuck in a room somewhere to await transport back to Earth. Blackrock blamed himself for Circuit Breaker's current condition, believing his bullying to get her into action had cost her what little sanity she had left. In the next room was Hi-Q, whose personality had been fused with that of Optimus Prime and now believed himself to be the Autobot leader. Exodus! Hi-Q insisted they had to stay on Cybertron and find the Last Autobot. Blackrock wondered what the six of them could do against a dying planet, but then Thunderpunch defeated him with logic, pointing out he'd been as pessimistic about their chances against Unicron. A Savage Circle Convinced, Blackrock and the Neo-Knights stayed on Cybertron after the Autobots left, but soon found themselves regretting their decision. Blackrock and Thunderpunch both blamed themselves for getting roped into this quest by Hi-Q, reverting to their prior opinions that the Nebulan was completely bonkers. But a glimmer of hope emerged when Dynamo's powers began behaving erratically; it seemed that, in his attempt to tap into Cybertron's power, Dynamo had managed to establish a rapport with the alien world. With him guiding the group, the Neo-Knights uncovered the Last Autobot's hiding place within some ancient ruins. The Last Autobot? After the Last Autobot resurrected Optimus Prime, Blackrock and the Neo-Knights helped defeat a group of Decepticons on Klo, and were returned to Earth by the Autobots. End of the Road!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

A team from J.B. Blackrock's company helped the Autobots prevent the Decepticons from taking over an oil refinery in an event whose recording was used in a wayward simulation experienced by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

Classics

He likes to watch.

Before leaving Cybertron, Blackrock looked on as the Last Autobot created Modus Prime, part of a new race of Transformer called the Mini-Cons whose task it was to restore Cybertron. The New World

Regeneration One

Check next to the beef!

After Megatron conquered Earth in 1995, Blackrock led a small band of humans to Argus Base, an abandoned military base. It was there that Blackrock used his knowledge of Circuit Breaker's neural-cybernetic technology to revive Spike Witwicky, who had been comatose since his Headmaster partner Fortress Maximus's death, as Circuit Smasher.

In 2012, Blackrock met the Wreckers as Circuit Smasher brought them to the base, and asked them where Optimus Prime was. Unfortunately, the Autobot Commander wasn't with the troupe. With the allies on-hand, Blackrock later helped devise a plan to shut down the Ark, Megatron's seat of power. Loose Ends, Part 3

After Optimus Prime and reinforcements arrived from Cybertron, Megatron was destroyed and the Ark was deactivated. Nevertheless, Blackrock and Witwicky insisted the Autobots get off their planet, as Cybertronians were no longer welcome on Earth. Natural Selection, Part One

Along with Spike's wife and commanding officer Linda Chang, they began a settlement called Little America, Wyoming, and were less than thrilled to discover Prime remained behind despite their wishes. Still, Prime's proposal of a space bridge connecting them and Nebulos in order to pool resources had merit. Destiny, Part Two

After Cybertron's Star Chamber connected them to Nebulos, Blackrock and the humans met at their constructed space bridge in Oklahoma to greet their new "neighbors". Instead, a possessed Fortress Maximus emerged from the nexus, kidnapped Spike, and seriously beat Optimus. The War to End All Wars, Part 3 G.B. did his best to get Prime functioning again in order to discover what their enemy was. The War to End All Wars, Part 4 After the Dark Matrix's machinations ended, Blackrock went ahead and established the expected relations with Nebulos. The War to End All Wars, Part 5

2005 IDW continuity

• First Appearance: Transformers vol. 2 #35 (as Blackrock); #56 (as Sovereign)

In eons past, the Titan Master Sovereign was a Cybertronian, the "herald" of his master Onyx Prime during the reign of the Thirteen some twelve million years ago. White Light At some point—presumably after the First Cybertronian Civil War and following Onyx Prime's relocation to the barren world of Antilla—Onyx sent Sovereign to Earth to find and retrieve the Enigma of Combination. Garrison Blackrock profile Augmented with human flesh and conditioned to believe he had always been a human, Sovereign disguised himself as a human of Middle Eastern descent. Helden Though Sovereign's memories had been tampered with and suppressed, Blackrock had fragmentary recollections of a "childhood visit" from a "black angel," who showed him visions of a "rust desert." Lagrange

When Sovereign first arrived on Earth is not known, though Spike Witwicky would later note that evidence suggested that a Cybertronian had arrived on Earth some six thousand years ago. Vs. In 2017, Blackrock would postulate that his mind may have been wiped and reset over the length of multiple human lifetimes. Dawn At some point, Sovereign found the Enigma of Combination, but for reasons unknown he remained on Earth and did not contact Onyx of his find. Helden

The human calling himself "Garrison Blackrock" abruptly surfaced in 2012, with no records of him existing at all before that time. South of Heaven In public, Blackrock was best known as the eccentric CEO of Onyx, a cutting-edge corporation that reverse-engineered Cybertronian technology into consumer technology. Blackrock believed that he was descended from the legendary hero Gilgamesh, and claimed that his supposed ancestor had been the first human to harness the Enigma, passing it through the Blackrock family over the centuries to amass their fortune. ONoffON

Behind closed doors, Blackrock was also in the business of war, building advanced weaponry based off Cybertronian designs, manufacturing an army of combining Seeker clones for the Earth Defense Command Signals, Calls, and Marches The Nothing Man while simultaneously supplying China's People's Liberation Army Mecha Force with transforming mechs of their own. Once Upon a Time on Earth When Galvatron returned to Earth and proposed an alliance with the humans in 2014, Onyx secretly funded the construction of Sanctuary Station, a "commune" for the Decepticons to call home. South of Heaven

Some months after the Decepticons secretly returned to Earth, Blackrock prepared to unveil his latest invention, the Onyx Interface, supposedly the hottest new kit. Signals, Calls, and Marches. In fact, it used Enigma code to see right into the data of every device that used the Interface... and right into the souls of every human on Earth! What worried Blackrock was he couldn't see his soul when he used the device on himself. The Nothing Man

During the public launch of the Onyx Interface, Blackrock was interrupted by Spike Witwicky hacking the conference to reveal the connection between Onyx and the EDC to the world. He tried to spin the interruption as a mistimed video game announcement as he awaited the arrival of Director Faireborn, then was annoyed she'd only brought one other agent to the scene, as more troops would have increased the insecurity among the population and allowed him to sell more weapons and distractions. Signals, Calls, and Marches. After a clash between Autobots, Decepticons, and Witwicky in Tokyo, Blackrock saw fit to reveal to Faireborn that Onyx was in possession of the Enigma of Combination, the ancient Cybertronian artifact that he believed once built human society. Vs. After flying them to his Wanmu facility, he grandly proclaimed his ancestry, that the Enigma had constantly shaped our world, and that his family were always there to reap the riches. When the facility came under attack by Prowl's Devastator, Blackrock also revealed he could remotely activate and control the EDC's drone army! ONoffON

Cybertronian intervention took out that army and saw the Enigma, and a spacebridge he'd acquired, taken from him, but the Onyx Interface had sold so it wasn't a total loss. He quietly activated the "Earth Enigma" function to start a-spying. The Onyx Interface Conclusion: The Obliterati

Shortly after, Blackrock finally revealed Sanctuary Station to Soundwave and Galvatron's Decepticons. The visiting Ayana Jones and Faireborn were weirded out by his calm demeanour. South of Heaven

Blackrock began to make his move from within the EDC's own base, all while talking to Spike: he hoped the dodgy geezer would be able to help him work out who and what the hell he was. While talking Spike through his big plans with Onyx, Blackrock used the operating system to take control of the Ark-7 and trap it within a forcefield; other Autobots were captured by drones. The Nothing Man Even Spike found it disturbing when Blackrock began slowly dissolving the captive Autobots so he could convert them into lonsdaleite! Aphelion However, Blackrock was keeping the prisoners in the EDC base, unknown to his human allies, and the jig was swiftly up when D.0.C. and Buster broke them loose!

Unfortunately for all concerned, that was when Galvatron attacked: he'd worked out Blackrock was a Cybertronian made to do Onyx's dirty work and then summon him to Earth, but the Decepticon had other plans! Helden Blackrock was kidnapped by Galvatron and Skywarp, who brought him to Shanghai, China where the invasion was set to begin. Perihelion Galvatron forced Blackrock to give the Onyx source code to Mindwipe, using his mental powers to counter the effects of an EDC mindbomb. When Galvatron learned that Wheeljack had shielded all the Autobots from the EDC's weaponry, the vastly outnumbered Galvatron teleported away, taking Blackrock with him. Once Upon a Time on Earth

He's a synth! Kill him!

Back aboard the Nemesis, Mindwipe vivisected Blackrock to confirm Galvatron's theory: Blackrock was, indeed of Cybertronian heritage, a synthetic human indistinguishable from the genuine article. Blackrock was more than a little upset to have his suspicions confirmed so viscerally, but Galvatron insisted that this revelation was a boon for all parties involved — especially since Blackrock had handed the Decepticon leader access to the Onyx source code on a silver platter. New Worlds Order Still getting used to his robotic body, Blackrock had only been partially reassembled when Galvatron left to take care of an "appointment". With Galvatron out of the way, Blackrock struck a deal with the miserable Skywarp, offering to help him return to tangibility if he did the ex-CEO a favour... The Medium and the Message

Galvatron was delighted with his access to the Onyx code, using it to spy on Optimus and Soundwave's combined forces while Blackrock underwent another examination at the hands of Mindwipe. In the name of self-preservation, Garrison reluctantly took Galvatron's side as they prepared for the upcoming conflict. That moment came sooner than expected, and the combined forces brought their full might to bear on Galvatron's underwater base. Several Onyx assets were deployed over the course of the fight, but none were as powerful or game-changing as Galvatron's experiments with the Enigma code, which allowed him to forcibly combine or separate any Transformers, turning the Autobots into loyal combiners. It's Beginning To And Back Again When Superion fought back against the deleterious effects of the Onyx code, he wound up smashing the base entirely, and Blackrock, no longer needing to breathe, made his escape. Although Arcee's team attempted take in Blackrock, Faireborn and Jones arrived to extract their asset, responding to a secret signal Blackrock had hid in the transmission Galvatron had earlier sent to the EDC. Skywarp finally made good on his end of the deal as he teleported Faireborn, Jones, and Blackrock to safety. As Above...So Below

"No one will ever manipulate me again! Or draw my robot body consistently!"

Having teleported to the White House, Blackrock assured the President that he could avert another war against the Cybertronians after Optimus Prime raised a slumbering Titan from Earth's soil. No Fair Fights The President opted to send Blackrock to an undisclosed location via military convoy, overseen by Roadblock and Scarlett. Things were uneventful until the convoy stumbled across the severed head of Alpha Trion... and the head of Sentinel Prime, who had hijacked the old sage's body! Shrugging off the human's counterattack, Sentinel abducted Blackrock, telling the hapless CEO that he needed his skills, taking him back to the new Autobot City. Blackrock was thoroughly exasperated by his constant kidnappings, but things quickly took a turn when Sentinel Prime "initiated" Blackrock—forcing him out of his human configuration, Blackrock's body shed its human augmentations, revealing his original Titan Master body and name, Sovereign. Tapping into his innate knowledge of Titans, Sovereign manipulated Metrotitan's body to open a spacebridge portal, and after returning to his main body Sentinel took Sovereign and Optimus and Soundwave to places unknown. White Light The Titan Master duo brought to the remains of the Titan Prion where Sovereign assumed his head mode to control Trion's body while Sentinel monologued. At Sentinel's cue, Sovereign stabbed Soundwave through the chest with Alpha Trion's sword before Optimus shoved him off the Decepticon. As Optimus and Sentinel fought, Soundwave restored Sovereign's natural "Blackrock" persona before Sentinel grabbed the diminutive robot and fled through Prion's spacebridge. White Heat

"Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation..."

Shanghaied into Sentinel's mad scheme to "cleanse" the post-war Cybertron, Blackrock was taken to Luna 1, where Sentinel planned to awaken the hundreds of Titans that had been interred there. Sentinel took down Outrigger, and then ordered Blackrock to devour his Spark to fuel his Titan Master physiology. Blackrock refused, and in the interim Outrigger escaped. As retribution, Sentinel forcefully hardwired Blackrock into a Titan's brain module, using Blackrock to puppeteer the Titan and make a beeline for the moon's thrusters. Ten to Midnight Thanks to the efforts of Red Alert, Cerebros, Fortress Maximus, and Prowl he managed to hack the brain module while Sentinel was distracted, altering the coordinates of Sentinel's massive spacebridge for deep space, temporarily sparing Cybertron from a Titan apocalypse. In the aftermath, he was returned to Earth by Prowl. Last Light

When Marissa Faireborn was called in to speak to the President after G.I. Joe had been infiltrated by Dire Wraiths, the President accused the EDC agent of letting Blackrock infiltrate her organization. Marissa pointed out that unlike G.I. Joe, she at least knew what race Blackrock was and figured it out beforehand while G.I. Joe had lost custody of Blackrock almost immediately after putting him under their protection. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World

One-ups Tony Stark by literally turning into his armor.

After returning to Earth, Blackrock headed to the small European country of Schleteva in search of a mysterious obelisk that had been unearthed by the Adventure Team and stored away by the SIS, hoping to use it to learn more about his Cybertronian heritage. Crisis Intervention As a result of this, G.I. Joe were unable to call him for a consultation on Cybertronian technology. A Lonely Pillar on the Plain

In a bunker beneath Schleteva's capital of Verenya, Blackrock discovered the Talisman and investigated it; he was unaware that his tampering had activated the Talisman, causing it to mutate the inhabitants of the city above into Dire Wraiths. The anomalous energy readings prompted the Action Man Programme to intercede by deploying Action Man. Misunderstanding the situation, Blackrock battled the super-spy, but their fight was interrupted by the arrival of Rom and his old "ally" Mayday, who intervened before the Oktober Guard interfered. Taking a moment to question if Rom was Cybertronian (he wasn't), Blackrock joined the Space Knight in the fight before he was knocked back against the obelisk by a missile, causing it to unleash another energy wave. Once Bludd had been defeated (and teleported away with Action Man), Blackrock reassumed his human form, explained his reasons for going after the obelisk in the first place, dismissed Rom, and offered some small thoughts on what to do next. Crisis Intervention

After IDW won the rights to use Marvel's Dire Wraiths, they started getting a little cocky...

Blackrock, Mayday, and Kup tracked down the Micronauts to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, where—having recently escaped human captivity—the tiny aliens interpreted the heroes as a threat. Blackrock took to the air to engage their the Heliopolis and managed to convince the Micronauts that their intentions were pure. Larissa recognized Blackrock's photographs of the Talisman; hoping to find a way off Earth and back to Microspace, the Micronauts joined forces with Blackrock's team to find the Talisman, using the Heliopolis's sensors to track the artifact to the moon. Blackrock used his Onyx connections to equip Kup with a set of booster wings; on arriving, they discovered the Talisman–along with Doctor X, Baron Ironblood, and Storm Shadow. Blackrock and Larissa managed to extricate the Talisman before the base's supplies of Ore-13 detonated. Enter the Shadow Blackrock then sent the Talisman to his tower in Buenos Aires for study. When Eagles Scream

On Action Man's suggestion, the team headed to Hollywood to meet with Richard Ruby, who had been "Bulletman" on the Adventure Team when humanity first discovered the Talisman. They learned from Ruby's story that Garrison Kreiger had also been involved in the Talisman, and headed off to investigate his successor in I.R.O.N., Count van Rani. The Secret of the Mummy's Tomb The group arrived in Kalistan and met up with G.I. Joe ninja Snake Eyes, who helped them infiltrate the castle by posing as Tomax Paoli. The disguised Snake Eyes smuggled Blackrock into the castle by claiming that he had taken him prisoner. Hoping to learn more about Blackrock's Cybertronian capabilities, Kreiger and Baron Ironblood strapped Blackrock into a reverse-engineered Talisman of their own creation. While hooked into the machine, Blackrock experienced a vision of Onyx Prime, which prompted him to realize that the Talisman had connections to ancient Cybertron. He remained trapped until Snake Eyes, his cover blown, freed Blackrock from his restraints. Hoping defeat the combined Predacons van Rani had enslaved, Blackrock searched for a way to interface with the castle's computers without reactivating his "Sovereign" persona... only for Snake-Eyes to simply smash the device. The group escaped the castle thanks to its built-in teleporter and rematerialized just outside the grounds, whereupon Kup rescued them from a messy impact. The Iron Klaw

"Do I even weigh anything to you?" "No. It's like holding a couple of grapes."

Now armed with the knowledge of the real Tomax's activities, the heroes headed to I.R.O.N.'s corporate headquarters in San Francisco to investigate. They discovered that Tomax, forewarned of their arrival, had donned a Cobra Commander uniform; when the team pressed their attack, Tomax's limousine revealed itself as a Transformer named Centurion. While the other members of the team grappled with their foes, Blackrock hacked into the I.R.O.N. database to learn about this anomalous Transformer. Learning of Centurion's history and their shared heritage as servants of Onyx Prime, Blackrock managed to convince Centurion to stand down, peacefully ending the battle. Having learned of Kreiger's base of operations in Brasnya, the team made tracks for the remote country after dropping Centurion off at Autobot City. Strange Visitors

Arriving in Brasnya, the team investigated Kreiger's base, which had been built in the crater left behind by Centurion's old starship. Kup and Blackrock were sent to investigate the base with Action Man, but accidentally tripped anti-Cybertronian defenses in the base and were subsequently knocked out. When the two rebooted, they were met by the time lost Sgt. Savage prompting Blakcrock to ask if they'd missed anything. Power and Glory

The group travelled to the Onyx tower in Buenos Aires so as to transfer custody of the Talisman and Kreiger to G.I. Joe. Blackrock passed the time by studying the Talisman with Camila. When G.I. Joe was due to land at any moment, Blackrock tried to do one last scan of the ancient device, only for "Camila" to perform the wrong scan. As he scolded her, Camila revealed herself to be Storm Shadow, and stabbed him through the chest. When Eagles Scream

As Blackrock lay dying, Mayday arrived to fight Storm Shadow while the Titan Master's consciousness was transferred to infraspace via the Talisman. Within the realm, he encountered Onyx Prime who revealed that that Talisman was inoculation against an oncoming threat before attempting to destroy Blackrock. Blackrock's salvation came in the unexpected form of Mike Power, who convinced Blackrock to make good on his second chance at life. Blackrock took his words to spark and used his abilities to summon Metrotitan before the two departed for the living plane, leaving behind an enraged Onyx. Reawakening in the physical world, Blackrock recapped his strange encounter before he revealed he could use Storm Shadow's DNA and his connection to the Talisman's software in combination with his Titan Master powers and Metrotitan to reverse engineer and transmit a healing wave to cure the Dire Wraith mutates. After the villains had teleported the Talisman away and Centurion revealed himself to now be a combination of his and Mike Power's minds, Blackrock suggested he talk to Optimus to sort things out, before the group was approached by a woman looking for her boyfriend. Realizing that the boyfriend had been killed by G.I. Joe before they had realized the true nature of the Wraith creatures, the Revolutionaries agreed that next time, they would have to work even harder and be even better. Ghost in the Machine

Blackrock took Centurion to meet Optimus Prime on the day of Earth's induction into the Council of Worlds, where he provided moral support to the Maximal as he tried to make sense of his jumbled memories. As the ceremony began, Optimus took his leave, leaving the two to discuss their pasts and whether or not Earth and Cybertron uniting was a good idea. Seconds later, the Iron Ring attacked, with Optimus Prime warning Blackrock of the approach of the bounty hunter Colditz. Smirking, Blackrock readied his numerous weapon systems, only for Centurion to strike him from behind and render him unconscious. Unification Day: Dawn

Blackrock awoke, bound within Centurion's vehicle mode and heading into the wilderness of Cybertron. Though the Titan Master tried to convince Centurion to turn away from Kreiger, the Maximal cryptically said he had his reasons. At a campfire, Centurion revealed his plan to kill Kreiger as revenge for his manipulations. When the Revolutionaries arrived, Kreiger remotely used his magic to trigger the Talisman energy within Centurion to try and force the Revolutionaries to kill him. Without hesitation, Blackrock literally extended a hand in friendship, promising to be there for Centurion and encouraging him to calm down. Despite his hand being vaporized, his words were enough to get Centurion to stand down, though at the cost of him going into stasis lock. In the aftermath, Blackrock was interviewed, where he expressed the belief that humans and Cybertronians working was more important than ever. Unification Day: Dusk

Though Blackrock was ready to return to Earth, Centurion soon came back online and discovered a cache of protoforms in the wilderness, sending Blackrock a communique about them. The Titan Master promptly went to Optimus and informed him of the protoforms before the two went to the Spire to confront Starscream about concealing the protoforms' existence. After the Chancellor dodged the Prime's accusations and lent them Slug, the group headed out to the wilderness. When they reunited with Centurion, they found he had temporarily joined up with the Dinobots, that fact driving Slug into a frenzy. The Dead Come Home, Part 1 Flying out of range of the combat, Blackrock commented on Sludge fleeing the battle and that Arcee had vanished. As it turned out, Arcee had stealthily followed Sludge underground, where she discovered the Dinobots and Trypticon were watching over the developing protoforms. Seeing a way to solve two problems, Optimus sent Blackrock back to Iacon to collect Marissa Faireborn. Upon bringing her to the wilderness, Optimus then revealed his plan to have Trypticon become Earth's embassy on Cybertron so as to protect the protoforms. The Dead Come Home, Part 2

Though Blackrock returned to Earth without incident, he next found himself called to duty when Unicron destroyed Cybertron and arrived over Earth to consume it. As part of the united human/Cybertronian efforts to repel the planet-eater, Blackrock joined Earth's heroes and villains aboard Trypticon to devise a plan of action. Using his Titan Master talents, Blackrock helped pilot Metroplex into battle as the Titans led the charge against Unicron in Earth's orbit, Assembly despite feeling intimidated by Unicron's colossal robot form. Following Optimus Prime's sacrifice to defeat Unicron, Blackrock and Metroplex safely returned to the planet's surface; Ceremony some time later, Blackrock was one of the many mourners who attended Prime's funeral in Little Cybertron. Post

Kre-O comic

G.B. Blackrock was minding his own business at Metroplex when Earth's most wanted criminals attacked the Autobots' base! The villains nearly managed to take off with Metroplex's brain (downloaded onto a floppy disk) but Carzap snatched it out of the Headmaster's grip. G.B. Blackrock then used his Circuit Smasher to separate the Headmaster from Sentinel Prime's body, forcing the villains to flee empty-handed. The Brick List: Earth's Most Wanted

Toys

Timelines

Gas prices are skyrocketing.

• Carzap (TFSS 3.0, 2015)
  • TFSS3 number: 1
  • Accessories: Gas pump/laser blaster block set

Part of the third year of the Fun Publications Transformers Figure Subscription Service, this Kreon version of G.B. Blackrock comes with a Kre-O gas pump build kit that unfolds into a laser blaster station.

G.B.'s suit is a completely unique plastic color not used in any other Kre-O kit, regardless of franchise.

This kit came with Carzap, a modern version of a canceled Block Town toy, thus the block-based add-in.

• More information on G.B. Blackrock at TFU.info

Titans Return

If only this guy came with a Blackrock pretender shell...

• Autobot Sovereign & Alpha Trion (Voyager, 2016)

Available with Titans Return Alpha Trion, Sovereign transforms into a head compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return figure.

Sovereign was retooled into Titans Return Blunderbuss and Fathom.

Notes

Not the Moustache Man.

• Legal indicia in the Marvel comics state "G.B. BLACKROCK" is owned by them... but only from #73, when the Neo-Knights are getting more developed. Evidently, this was too late in the day for Marvel to claim him as their copyright (lacking any debuts elsewhere like Circuit-Breaker or Death's Head) and Hasbro kept hold.
• G.B. Blackrock was named after writer Bob Budiansky's friend Gary Bennett Schwartz. It is presumed that this is what his initials stand for. (Note also that "schwartz" means "black" in German.)
• Within Blackrock's first several appearances, he seems unable to decide whether he wants a mustache or not. He's got one up through issue 6, then in 7 and 8 he doesn't have one, then in 9 he has it again, and then it's gone in issue 15. After that, he always has the mustache. Perhaps he decided to keep it to physically distinguish himself from his Chief of Staff, Ames, who is otherwise his perfect double.
• Blackrock was going to become part of the Furman/Wildman Techno-X series, a reworked Neo-Knights in the early '90s; the Transformers would have been just a simulation to train them against real robots. He was going to have a deep, dark secret that he was responsible for the very supervirus Techno-X were trying to stop and would fight Tony Stark, with the two presented as two sides of the same coin.^[1] The series fell through, however.
• IDW writer John Barber, a fan of musician David Bowie, paralleled Blackrock/Sovereign to Bowie, coincidentally noting that both were involved with a black star.^[2]

Foreign names

• Japanese: G.B. Blackrock (G.B.ブラックロック G.B. Burakkurokku)

References